Best Florida Beer Events

All Events

Best Florida Beer Events

Best Florida Beer hosts a variety of events for the brewing and beer loving communities. These events bring together some of the best breweries and beers in the state of Florida. Come see us out at any of the following events, especially the Best Florida Beer Championships!

Best Florida Beer Championships
Best Florida Beer sponsors two main brewing competitions each year. The first determines the best commercial beer made and sold in Florida and the second awards the best homebrewed beers in Florida. Each of these competitions pits the best brewers in Florida against each other to receive the BFBC Gold Medals and honor of being named the Best in Show.

For more information on the Best Florida Beer Championships, including entry dates and event schedules, please visit the BFBC tab above.

BFBC Homebrew Awards Ceremony- Feb. 28th, 2015
Our annual Homebrew awards ceremony is where we announce all category winners and give out medals. Entertainment, food, and beer is provided as well as an intimate tour of Yuengling Brewery. We also have an amazing raffle that you will not want to miss.
For more information on the BFBC Homebrew Awards Ceremony, please visit the BFBC Awards Ceremony tab above.

Brewers Ball- March 8th, 2015
The Brewers Ball is an event for all of the category winning commercial beers, in order to showcase them during an afternoon of live music, awards and probably one of the best beer raffles in Florida. Trophies are given for the top three commercial beers and homebrewed beers.
For more information on the Brewers Ball, please visit the Brewers Ball tab above.

BFBC Leftover Party- March 21st
This is the final event of the year for BFBC. It is an opportunity to invite the general public to taste the leftover homebrew entries and give instructions on how to properly judge a beer.
For more information on the BFBC Leftover Party, please visit the BFBC Leftover Party tab above.

BFBC

Best Florida Beer Championships – All Entry Submissions

The Best Florida Beer Championships is the premier event hosted by the team at Best Florida Beer. The BFBC events are focused on determining the best homebrewed and commercial beers produced and sold in the State of Florida. It is our goal to find these Gold Medal beers and breweries each year for craft beer enthusiasts from around the state to enjoy. Please see the dates and information regarding the 2014 Best Florida Beer Championships and visit regularly for updates on event dates, times, registration and more.

The current schedule of events for the 2015 Best Florida Beer Championships is:

Our annual Homebrew Awards Ceremony is where we announce all category winners and give out medals for the homebrew side of the Best Florida Beer Championships. Entertainment, beer and classic German street-food is provided! We will have a 10-tap beer trailer on site that carries both commercial and homebrewed libations. Intimate tours of Yuengling Brewery will be offered as well. We also have an amazing raffle that you will not want to miss!

*$10 for judges/stewards- TICKETS FOR JUDGES/STEWARDS MUST BE PURCHASED AT THE DOOR.
* You must be a participant as a judge or steward in the BFB Homebrew Competition 2015. Judge/steward discounts will be verified at the event. If you judge/steward the day of the event, you have free entry.
* Regular tickets will also be available at the door

We’ve arranged for a block rate of $59.99/night at the Clarion Hotel at 2701 East Fowler Avenue Tampa, FL 33612. Rate is valid for Feb. 27th and 28th only. Ask for the Best Florida Brewers Championship rate: 813.971.4710Click Here for Map

Brewers Ball

Brewers Ball – Sunday, March 8th, 2015

Brewers Ball is a celebration of brewing with the intent of gathering brewers from across the state for the presentation of the Best Florida Beer Championships’ Best of Show winners.

The Ball features live music, samples of the Gold Medal and Category winning beers from the Championships’ commercial competition and a beer raffle (there will be NO keg competition this year).

Schedule of EventsNoon:
12:30: Welcome, Toast by Last Year’s Best of Show Winner-
12:45:
1:30: Commercial Medals Presentation
2:15:
3:00: Homebrew Best of Show Presentation, Commercial Best of Show Presentation, Raffle
3:45:
4:30: Last Call/Raffle

Where is Contanchobee Park?Where is the festival entrance?
This is a linear park that is part of the Tampa Riverwalk project. The park is bookended by the Tampa Bay History Museum to the East and the Marriott Waterside to the West. The park is directly South of the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The festival gate is located at the West end of the park near the Marriott.

What is the inclement weather policy?
Event is rain or shine. This is a city park so overed space is limited. Bring rain gear, sunscreen or whatever else you need to be comfortable.

Will I be able to buy tickets at the gate?
No, All tickets will be sold in advance. There will be no tickets available at the show.

Where should I park?
There are many pay lots and parking garages in the immediate downtown area. These lots may be quite full as there are many events and attractions going on this weekend. It is possible that these pay lots will be charging premium rates. The Channelside area may also be an option for parking and there is a trolley stop at the park that you can take to plentiful parking in Ybor City. All day passes on the trolley cost $5.

Are there discounted Designated Driver tickets available?
No. The beer provided at this event is donated by the award winning breweries. Money collected from ticket fees covers the cost of hosting the Awards Ceremony. Designated drivers can still enjoy the bands, the park, and the Awards presentation, but we cannot provide a discount. Many activities (Channelside shopping, Ybor City, Tampa Bay History Museum, Gasparilla art show, Tampa Art Museum, etc) are located nearby if your driver does not want to attend the Brewers Ball.

Will there be food available for purchase?
Yes. Details will be announced as they become available.

What am I permitted to bring into the festival?

Drink ware: In past years, BFB has encouraged guests to bring their own personal drink ware without restriction. The parks department, however, does not allow persons to bring glass containers into the park. You may bring plastic cups, but under no circumstance will you be allowed entrance if you bring glass. NO GLASS ALLOWED!!!! BFB will provide disposable clear plastic cups at the festival gate for your use. You may want to bring a marker to identify your cup.

Lawn chairs, picnic blankets, umbrellas: You may bring items for personal comfort as long as you can carry them on your person. Keep in mind that the irrigation runs the length of the park, so ground stakes are not permitted. You are responsible for removing anything that you bring into the park.

BFBC Leftover Party – March 21st

So come taste what the judges get to taste at the Best Florida Beer Championships Leftover Party!

The BFBC homebrew competition is gaining momentum with each passing competition. Recent years have seen the number of entries grow to over 500, which means we receive more than 1500 bottles of beer!

In the process of the competition a mere one or two bottles are opened for judging purposes. This means that we are left with over 800 different beers that are typically just thrown out. We decided that instead of wasting these brews, that we’d share these bottles with you, our fellow craft beer enthusiasts.

Lecture on The State of Craft Beer in Florida - Featuring: Bob Sylvester, Ken Rosenthal, Gerard Walen, and Sean Nordquist.